More Shelves

I am installing more shelves in the garage, in the concrete. That means I get to use the rotary hammer and a 1/4″ SDS Plus bit.

I knew jobs like this were ahead when I decided to buy this thing. I wondered if it was worth it, lugging a 10-pound drill (a rotary hammer is a kind of drill) up a ladder over and over, to drill very small holes.

Boy, is it worth it. First of all, my cordless hammer drill, which is what I would have used but for the rotary hammer, is not that much lighter. Second, the hammer drill has no depth stop. Third, once the hammer action starts, it takes about five seconds for the rotary hammer to drill a hole 2″ deep in a concrete wall. Fourth, you don’t have to apply much pressure to a rotary hammer. You just hold it against the surface, and it does all the work.

With my hammer drill (which is a very nice Bosch), I had to lean on the handle for maybe a minute per hole. I also had to pull the bit out from time to time because it didn’t eject the dust very well. Forget all that; the hammer drill goes in, I pull it out, and I put it down and move on. And when you put up shelves, you have to drill a lot of holes.

This thing is a miracle tool, like the impact driver. I’ll bet a smaller model would be great for most people. I went with a Makita HR3000C because it seemed like a good step up from the Bosch, and it was big enough to do jobs other than drilling. And I found a ridiculous price. But most people would do great with something smaller, for a couple of hundred bucks. Get one of these plus a Panasonic 12-volt impact driver, and you will wonder how you lived without either. You’ll never need to touch your drill again. And many times you’ll be able to avoid using a screwdriver or socket wrench.

I’m enjoying myself a lot. Using tools is fun, IF your tools are adequate. Tools used:

1. Impact driver
2. Rotary hammer
3. Claw hammer
4. File
5. Dry cut saw
6. Level
7. Electric leaf blower

I have finally realized that if I’m going to use the blower to clean up swarf, I need to do my metal-cutting way out in the driveway and wear eye protection. Otherwise, half of the swarf goes back into the garage, and I have to keep my eyes closed.

I am not all that thrilled with Closetmaid shelving. I don’t even use the shelves. They’re wire, so things fall between the wires, and it’s hard to move things without picking them up off the shelves. And it’s hard to put anything heavy on them, so the advertised strength of the supporting stuff is wasted. I make my own shelves from wood. They’re smooth and strong. The Closetmaid hardware isn’t made to work with wood, so you have to improvise a fair amount. But it’s all sturdy, so it seems like the best choice, given what I can find.

Home Depot lumber is pretty bad; I suppose it’s like that at every store. Sometimes I have to go back several times, weeks apart, to get decent wood. And I still have to clamp it, glue it, and screw it when I put it together, to force it to do what I want.

I have a radio in the garage playing country music, and there’s a fan on the wall on a special shelf I built for it. It’s very pleasant out there. Sure beats watching TV.